North Woods Weather
Grand Traverse
Traverse City Area
Leelanau County ...
Mackinac Straits T oday's Northwest Michigan is a tapestry of life, work and play that reveals our heritage, values and hopes for the future. This chapter gives a brief overview of our communities and the dynamics that make them strong. The entire region is blessed with an environmental beauty that is matchless. Our scenic attributes are the legacy of the four continental glaciers that once encased the region in ice. As they receded, a new land was forged, filled by the remains of the melting glaciers that created the Great Lakes and our abundant inland waters. The departing glaciers left our soil sandy and nutrient deficient, perfect conditions for growing the great pine trees that fill our north woods. The glaciers carved the hills and valleys that give scenic character to our rolling landscape. The environment is the essential thread that identifies the region and binds us together. It created the tourism industry that is so vital to our local economies. It hosts abundant fish and wildlife, and is home to countless recreational pursuits. The environment is, very simply, the main reason that we live and work here. You will see this theme woven through each of the geographic areas we profile here and spotlight throughout this guide. As in the rest of this book, this overview is divided into our four main geographic areas. The numerous communities in these areas are as diverse as our vast regional landscape. Traverse City leads the lineup as the largest community, with more than 70,000 area residents, while the population in some villages is in the low hundreds. We could probably write a fascinating chapter about each community. Unfortunately, the sheer size of our regional boundaries prohibits that type of depth. Instead, we give you a native's bird's-eye view of our home along with the elements that define it as a community. | |
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